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The Quran appears to operate under the assumption that Jews are not only required to follow the Torah but are also commanded to "uphold" the Gospel, creating a theological paradox that contradicts the very nature of the New Covenant.
In the Christian understanding, the Gospel (Injil) is the announcement that the Old Covenant (Torah) has reached its intended goal in Jesus Christ.
The Bible is clear that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4). When the Quran tells Jews they must "uphold the Torah," it is commanding them to remain under a covenant that God Himself declared "obsolete" and "ready to vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13).
The Gospel teaches that no one is justified by the Law (Galatians 2:16). If a Jew were to truly "uphold the Gospel," they would have to abandon the Torah as a means of salvation and "standing" before God. Yet, the Quran commands them to uphold both simultaneously to have "standing." This suggests the author of the Quran did not understand that the Gospel fundamentally changes the believer's relationship to the Mosaic Law (Brackens, 2024).
The Quran frequently addresses the "People of the Book" (Jews and Christians) as a collective unit, often blurring the lines between their respective revelations.
Surah 5:66: "And if only they upheld the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to them from their Lord, they would have consumed from above them and from beneath their feet."
Surah 5:68: "O People of the Scripture, you are on nothing until you uphold the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord."
The Quran’s demand that Jews uphold "the Torah and the Gospel" simultaneously creates a direct contradiction with Biblical theology.
By treating the Torah and the Gospel as twin pillars for the same people, the Quran contradicts the very Heart of the New Testament—the fact that Christ has fulfilled the Law once and for all. This is a clear indication that the Quran is not the "guardian" of the Bible, but an outsider's misreading of it.